3. Madelyn

With his hand on my shoulder and his rough heated skin against mine, he opens the bedroom door.

The baby is sleeping. Soundly and at a distance where I’ll hear if he wakes.

This is the price I’ll pay for the life I lead and the desires I’ve had for as long as I’ve known what it means to exist in this world.

A fire is already lit, surrounded by a stone mantel that reaches to the ceiling. The simplicity and masculinity of the room are undeniable. A gray textured wallpaper lines the back wall, while woodsy tones paired with blacks and grays add to the dominating atmosphere. The massive bed is a king and at the end of it is a tufted warm brown leather ottoman.

I’ve always seen Connor as a rugged man. Ruthless and foreboding. I never could have imagined his private room to have such warmth and elegance. The harsh lines and darkness certainly fit his persona, though.

With a heavy breath, I peek down at myself and my arms instinctively cover my chest. The torn cotton gown appears cheap and out of place in a space like this. My knees are dirty and although the room itself is warm and expensive, all I feel is cold and trapped.

“This needs to come off,” Connor whispers behind me, his warm breath just beneath the shell of my ear. His light touch on my bare shoulders as he brushes down the straps of my nightgown causes me to shiver involuntarily. A line of goosebumps travels down my curves as the nightgown falls. It doesn’t do so elegantly, as silk would have. As it catches at my wide hips, Connor uses both hands to push the garment down and his thumbs hook my underwear, tugging it along with the fabric.

Completely bared, my nipples pebble and I struggle to inhale as I stare straight ahead at the roaring fire. The flames lick and hiss while Connor takes his time, barely touching me, but exposing me exactly how he wishes.

My body isn’t what it used to be and as his hand splays against my stomach, my eyes close with worry, but his hum of satisfaction spreads a new sensation through me. He nips the lobe of my ear and a gasp is forced from me.

As my breathing picks up, his hand lowers and his chest hits my back.

His fingers slip down to my sensitive clit. He takes his time, toying with me until my body buckles forward. His forearm braces me against him and he tsks.

“You’ll stay still as I play with you,” he tells me, his tone holding a note of warning. His hardened length presses into my backside through his jeans. His hard body demands that I take it.

My hand, though, acts on its own accordingly, grabbing his wrist as his hand moves lower still to my slit.

His body stills and the air changes. I can barely breathe knowing what I’ve done. I’ve stopped him, I’ve deliberately disobeyed.

“I haven’t—” I start to say but can barely speak. “Since the baby,” I add, pushing out the excuse. I haven’t touched myself or been touched.

My chest rises and falls chaotically, uncertain how he’ll react.

All at once, he leaves me, and I only turn when the sound of the sheets and comforter being lifted is louder than my pulse racing in my ears.

In the near silent room, all I can think about is my now dead husband’s cruelty. Random flashes greet me of every time my needs were denied. Memories drift into my mind of my brother and how he died needlessly. Every dark moment passes in the flick of a second. My throat closes and the strength I thought I had fades to nothing but a facade.

I watch the dark shadows play along Connor’s body as he pulls his shirt over his head, dropping it to the floor to form a puddle of clothing. His hands move to his belt and it comes off nearly violently to the point where I’m tempted to take a step back. He drops it, though, and it lands with a heavy thud. His jeans are next, and in one swift motion his cock juts out.

In only a moment, the damaged man is completely bared to me and waiting.

“Get on the bed,” Connor commands and my body moves immediately, instantly obeying. Everything in me is at war; every want, every need, every thought and memory.

The bed groans softly as I climb onto the center and lie down on the luxurious sheets. My head sinks into the pillow and my gaze finds the spinning fan.

He’s deliberate as he crawls up the bed, but his touch still startles me and brings me back to the present when he asks, “Is there something on your mind?”

My answer is immediate and submissive. “What would you like to be on my mind?”

Sliding between my legs, he spreads my thighs and his hard body covers me. His warm skin presses against my chest and he caresses my curves. His mouth greets me, his lips molding to mine instantly as his tongue parts my seam.

It’s been so long since I’ve been kissed like this. Heavily and wantonly. Since I’ve been moaned into by the mouth of a man. His tongue strokes against mine as his fingers press into the flesh of my hips and he keeps me pinned. It feels as if he’s everywhere all at once.

Consuming me and demanding attention equally as much as desire.

When he breaks the kiss, I breathlessly stare back at him,transfixed by his copper gaze.

“You will think of nothing but this. Of how much you need me to take you.”

The light of the fire displays the harshness of his collarbone and corded muscles as I part my lips to answer. I can’t, though, because he’s far too concerned with silencing me with another kiss.

It’s demanding and brutal, but the gentle motion of his hand slipping between my thighs is very much at odds. He’s focused on my clit until I writhe under him, unable to stay still as he told me I should.

Every nerve ending lights on fire, a bundle explodes in the pit of my stomach and I cry out my pleasure as an orgasm rocks through my body. It happens so quickly and so unexpectedly, smothering every thought and doubt along with it.

He’s off of me the moment I’ve come, and it doesn’t take me long to figure out why. From his nightstand he gathers a bottle, and I watch him stroke himself with lubrication before pouring more in his hands.

It’s only then that his fingers slip lower once again, spreading the lube at my entrance.

On his knees between my thighs, he slips the head of his cock between my folds, toying with me before pressing in slightly. My breath hitches and my hand splays against his chest as if that could stop him. With his dark gaze focused on mine, he tells me in a murmur, “I will ruin you for everyone else, but I intend for you to enjoy every moment.”

With that he presses in deeper, stretching me and making my lips form an O. The sensation stings for a moment until he’s fully inside of me, pressing against my walls. Connor stills, allowing me time to adjust.

My blunt nails dig into his shoulders as I wrap my arms around him, the heels of my feet digging into his muscular ass, as if I could hold on. As if doing so will save me from the far too intense sensation.

As I stare above me wide eyed and attempting to breathe, he kisses and nips my neck, relaxing me slowly as he pulls out gently and presses back in.

His lips find mine again and I’m able to kiss him, to cling to him, grateful and relieved. My body heats with every small movement. Every rock of his hips causes him to brush against my clit and it isn’t long before I tilt my hips, wanting him deeper.

The moment my body instinctively welcomes him, he smiles against my lips. “You’re my good little whore, aren’t you?”

At his question my eyes meet his and he slams inside of me, brutally.

My head falls back and a strangled moan leaves me.

“Your cunt was made for me to fuck,” he tells me as his hips piston.

His body pins me and his left hand finds my neck. Fingers wrap tight around my throat as he pounds into me, relentlessly and bringing about an intense sensation I’ve never felt before.

The bed bows with every hard thrust.

“Come on my cock like you want to,” he groans into the crook of my neck. My pebbled nipples brush against his chest and it’s all too much. “Come for me, my good little whore.”

I do it. Unashamedly, I come undone for him.

The moan of satisfaction only extends my pleasure.

The orgasm is still raging through me as he kisses me again, riding through my release and fucking me deeper and harder. “That’s my good girl. You’re so fucking perfect.”

He doesn’t finish like that. He turns me over onto my stomach, grabbing the base of my hair and tugging as he fucks me from behind, dragging out every orgasm and pausing before he reaches his own climax so he can take more time with me.

“I’m going to enjoy every inch of you. I’m going to make you completely mine.”